Refrigeration apparatus



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WITNESSES: INVENTOR W1 Luam B-ANDERSON.

A. .4 I I 0ct.-1 0, 1944. w. B. ANDERSON 2,350,139-

' REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Filed D90. '7, 194's 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 10, 1944.

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ATI'OR EY Q 1944. w. B. ANDERSON 2,360,189.

' REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Filed Dec. 7, 1943 4 sheets-sheep 4 lNV EN TOR WILLIAM BANDERSOM.

BY R22 2 A ATTO EY construct a high-humidity tion to increase the Patented Oct. 10, 1944 William B. Anderson,

signor to Westinghouse in: Company, tion of Pennsyl West Springfield, Masa, as- Electric & Manufactur- East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corpora- Appiication December '1, 1943. Serial No. 513,208

ilClaims.

My invention relates to refrigeration apparatus and particularly to a large receptacle or compartment for disposition in the main food chamber of a domestic refrigerator to provide, for example, a high-humidity compartment. 'Ihis application is a continuation-in-part of my prior application, Serial No. 440,146, filed April 23, 1942.

Heretofore, many domestic refrigerators have been equipped with a large enclosed receptacle in the main food-storage chamber to store vegetables, certain fruits and the like in a high-humidity atmosphere. The high-humidity receptacle may be cooled by the air which'circulates over the exterior walls of the receptacle and into contact with the ice freezing evaporator, or it may be cooled by a separate evaporator. United States Patent No. 2,233,394 to John H. Ashbaugh exemplifies a high-humidity receptacle'cooled by circulating air.

' However, the prior high-humidity receptacles of this type were bulky and difilcult to assemble. The old type high-humidity receptacles, furthermore, took up valuable food-storage space where air was circulated over the side walls thereof. Furthermore, it was diflicult for the housewife to 7 clean the high-humidity receptacle and the areas of the refrigerator in proximity thereto.

a refrigerator provided with a high-humidity compartmentby using the side walls of the foodstorage chamber to form the side walls of the high-humidity compartment and circulate cold air over only four outer walls of the high-humidity compartment to cool the same.

These and other objects are effected by myinvention as will be apparent from the following description and claims taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this application, in which: i

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator cabinet equipped with a high-humidity compartment constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the lower portion of the food-storage chamber of a refrigerator cabinet It is, therefore, an object of my invention to provide a relatively large high-humidity compartment for a refrigerator which may be readily assembled in the factory and which is easy for the housewife to remove, clean, and replace.

It is another object of my invention to appreciably reduce the cost oi such a high-humidity compartment by reducing the number of parts and by utilizing portions of the walls of the food storage chamber to also form walls of the highhumidity compartment.

It is still another object or my invention to $0, compartment that very slight or no modification is necessary in refrigerator cabinets to which the high-humidity compartment is applied, so that production of refrigerator cabinets with'or without high-humidity compartments may be on the same production line and so that conversion of standard refrigerator cabinets to embody a high-humidity compartment is a minor operation. I

It is a rurther important object, of my invenusable food-storage spacein and of my high-humidity compartment, with parts broken away and the doors of the cabinet and of the high-humidity compartment removed for the sake of clarity;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line III-III of Fig. 2 with the doors of the and of the high-humidity compartment added; and,

Fig. 415 a fragme line IV-IV of Fig. 3.

Referring specifically to the drawings for a detailed description of. my invention, numeral ii designates generally a refrigerator cabinet having a main food chamber i2 with an access opening i3 and a main insulated door M for closing the, As best shown in Figs. 2 to 4, the refrigerator cabinet is formed of an inner shellaccess opening.

l5 which defines the food chamber l2 and a spaced outer shell i8, with heat insulation ll therebetween. The inner and outer shells and heat insulation from side walls iii, a top wall l9; a bottom wall 2| and a rear wall 22 surrounding the food chamber l2. Breaker strips 23 extend between the spaced inner and outer shells periph- I erally of the access opening l3.

An evaporatorv 24 is preferably disposed in the upper part of the food chamber l2 and maintained at a temperature of about 20 F. to refrigerate and induce a convectional flow of air through the food chamber 12. The average temperature of the air in the food-storage chamber i2 is about 40 F. The air circulating past the evaporator 24 deposits moisture thereon in the cabinet 'tary sectional view taken on drated, such as bottled liquids, canned foods,

eggs, butter, and foods in closed containers.

A compartment, generally indicated by the reference numeral 25, is disposed in the lower part of the food chamber 2. This compartment is closed to the circulation of the air in the food chamber l2 and, accordingly, is adapted for stormg fruits, vegetables, moist foods in open dishes,

and similar articles. When thus stocked with foods, the humidity of the air in the compartment 25 rises rapidly to about 85 per cent relative humidity, and thereafter the loss of moisture of the foods is very slight, A compartment of this nature is generally known as a high humidity compartment.-

In, accordance with my invention, the highhumidity compartment 25 is formed of a plurality of' readily assembled or removable parts or panels so that refrigerator cabinets may be manufactured without a high-humidity compartment and, if then desired, the high -humidity compartment may be added with very slight modifications to the remainder of the cabinet. .The plurality of parts are also arranged so that they are'readily removable by the housewife for cleaning. In the embodiment illustrated, the high-humidity compartment 25 is cooled by re- I frigerated air circulating in heat exchange relation with the exterior walls thereof, and for this reason, passages 23 and 21 are provided between the inner shell v|5.and the high-humidity compartment 25 adjacent the back wall 22 and the bottom wall 2|, respectively. A third air passage 28 is provided between the main door l4 and doors 29 on the front of the high-humidity compartment 25. As shown by the arrows in Fig. 3, the air circulates downwardly in the rear passage 23, toward the front of the cabinet in the passage 21 and upwardly in the. passage 28. The circulation in this direction is caused by the fact that the rear Ofthe evaporator 24 is open so that the air adjacent the rear of the evaporator 24 I available for usable storage space. The exteriors I of the panels 3|, 32, and 33 and of the doors 29- are cooled by the refrigerated air circulating in the main food-storage chamber l2, and the interior of the compartment 25 is cooled by conduction of heat through its panels 3|, 32, and 33 and doors 23.

As best shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the rear panel 33 is inserted, into the food compartment |2 first, and is supported on four studs 34 extending from the side walls l8 of the food chamber 2. Four hooks 35 attached to the rear panel 33 engage the studs 34 and maintain the rear panel 33 firmly in position. The rear panel 33 is provided with a reinforced flange 36 at its top and a second flange 3'! at its bottom to support the rear of the top and bottom panels 3| and 32,.

respectivelyl A flange 38 on each vertical edge of the rear panel 33 retains a gasket 33 in position so that a seal isffected between the passage 26, wherein low-humidity air is circulated, and the interior of the high-humidity compartment 25, thereby preventing dehumidification of the high-humidity compartment.

The top panel 3| is supported at its front by two brackets 4| which are attached to the side walls l8 of the refrigerator cabinet. An intermediate shelf 42 is supported at its corners by brackets 43 and 44 which are attached to the side walls l8 of the refrigerator cabinet, The intermediate shelf 42 is also preferably formed of glass and, although it extends the entire width of the food chamber l2, it is spaced from the rear panel33 of the high-humidity compartment 25 and from the doors 29, as best shown in Fig. 3. This spacing provides ducts for air circulation within the high-humidity compartment in the same general direction as in the food chamber In order to improve the appearance of the bottom passage 21 when viewed from the front, and

to support the front of the bottom panel 32, a

grill plate 45 having openings 46 is provided, as best shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. The grill plate 45 extends the entire width of the food chamber l2 .and is retained by the breaker strips 23, as best shown in Figs. 2- and 3. Two braces 41 are dis-,

posed in back of the grill 45 and are attached to the grill and to the bottom of the inner shell is cooled to a lower temperature than the air adjacent the front of the evaporator 24. The joints between the door l4 and the cabinet II also permit a greater heat leakage than other portions of the cabinet walls of equal area. The result of both of these factors is that the air at the rear of the cabinet II is colder than the air in the front of the cabinet-ll and the colder air at the rear tends to descend to replacethe warmer air at thel front of the cabinet thus effecting a circulation.

.The high-humidity compartment 23 is formed or three mainpanels, namely, a top panel 3|,

I5, thus strengthening the grill 45 so it is sufficiently rigid to support the front of the bottom panel 32. As shown in Figs. 8 and 4, the doors 23 are supported on hinges 48 which are screwed to the front of the inner liner l3. The doors 23 are preferably formed of a transparent plastic material or of glass.

In manufacturing the refrigerator cabinet, it is necessary to provide only the studs 34 and the supports 4| and 44 in the inner shell l5. If it is then desired to add the high-humidity chamber v25, it is necessary to drill only the holes for the hinges 43 and brackets 41, so that refrigerators may be manufactured in mass production with the same parts for both standard and highhumidity refrigerators.

If the housewife wishes to clean the highhumidity compartment 25 and the air passages 26 and 21, it is necessary only to open the doors 23 and separately lift out the top panel 3|, intermediate shelf 42, bottom panel 32, and back panel 33. After cleaning. the parts are replaced in the same order.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided a novel highv-humidlty compartment which is cooled by circulating air, which wa.is of the compartment provides for maximum food-storage space, ease of cleaning, and adapts itself exceptionally well to mass production.

While I have shown my form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a refrigerator having a main food-storage chamber comprising front, rear, side, top, bottom walls, said front wall comprising a door affording access to said chamber, and means associated with the chamber to refrigerate the air therein, the combination with said refrigerator of a high-humidity compartment located in said chamber, said compartment comprising front, rear, top, and bottom walls, said front wall comprising a door afiording access to said compartinvention in but one and 3 porting the front, rear, top,

ment, all of said walls of the compartment extending the full width of the chamber to cooperate with the side walls thereof to form a sixsided enclosure, the front, rear, top, and bottom being spaced from the front, rear, top, and bottom walls, respectively, of the chamber to provide an air duct for the circulation of the refrigerated air in the chamber around th receptacle.

2. In a refrigerator having a main food-storage chamber comprising front, rear, side, top, and bottom walls, said front wall comprising a door afiording access to said chamber, and means associated with the chamber to refrigerate the air therein, the combination with said refrigerator of a high-humidity compartment located in said chamber, said compartment comprising front, rear, top, and bottom walls, said front wall comprising a door affording access to said compartment, all of said walls of the compartment extending thefull width of the chamber to cooperate with the side walls thereof to form a six-sided enclosure, means for supporting the front, rear, top, and bottom walls of the compartment in spaced relationship with the front, rear, top, and bottom walls, respectively, of the chamber to providean air duct for the circulation of the refrigerated air in the chamber around the receptacle, said supporting means affording ready removal of at least two of .said walls of the compartment from said chamber.

3. In a refrigerator having a main food-stor age chamber comprising front, rear, side, top, and bottom walls, said front wall comprising a door affording access to said chamber, and means associated with the chamber to refrigerate the air therein, the combination with said refrigerator of a high-humidity compartment located in said chamber, said compartment comprising front, rear, top, and bottom walls, said front wall comprising a door afiording access to said compartment, all of said walls of the compartment extending the full width of the chamber to cooperate with the side a six-sided enclosure, means for supporting the front, rear, top, and bottom walls of the compartment in spaced relationship with the front, rear, top, and bottom walls, respectively, of the chamber to provide an air duct for the circulation of the refrigerated air in the chamber around the receptacle, said supporting means affording ready removal of the front, rear, top,

walls thereof to form and bottom walls of thecompartment from said chamber.

4. In a refrigerator having a main food-storage chamber comprising front, rear, side, top, and bottom walls, said front wall comprising a door affording access to said chamber, and means associated with the chamber to refrigerate and circulate the air therein, the combination with said refrigerator of a high-humiditycompartment located in said chamber, said compartment comprising front, rear, top, and bottom walls, said front wall comprising a door affording accessto said compartment, all of said walls of the compartment extending the full width of the chamber to cooperate with the side walls there of to form a six-sided enclosure, means for supand bottom walls of the compartmentin spaced relationship with the front, rear, top, and bottom walls, respectively, of the chamber to provide an air duct for the circulation of the refrigerated air in the chamber around the receptacle, said supporting means age chamber comprising front, rear, side, top,

and bottom walls, said front wall comprising a door affording access to said chamber, and a cooling unit in the upper portion of the chamber to refrigerate and circulate the air therein, the combination with said refrigerator of a highhumidity compartment located in said chamber below said cooling unit, said compartment comprising front, rear, top, and bottom walls, said front wall comprising a door affording access to said compartment, all of said walls of the compartment extending the full width of the chamber to cooperate with the side walls thereof to form a six-sided enclosure, means for supporting the front, rear, top, and bottom walls of the compartment in spaced relationship with the front, rear, top, and bottom walls, respectively, of the chamber to provide an air duct for the circulation of the refrigerated air in the chamber down the back, across the bottom, and up the front of the high-humidity compartment to cool the walls thereof.

6. A high-humidity compartment for a refrigerator having an insulated food-storage chamber including vertical side walls, said compartment comprising separately and readily reclosure means for the front of the high-humidity compartment.

7. In a refrigerator having a main food-storage chamber comprising front, rear, side, top, and bottom walls, said front wall comprising a door affordingaccess to said chamber, and means associated with the chamber to refrigerate and circulate the air therein, the combination with said refrigerator of a high-humidity compartment located in said chamber, said compartment comprising. heat-conducting front, rear, top, and bottom walls, said front wall comprising a door afl'ording access to said compartment, all of said walls of the compartment extending the full width of the chamber to cooperate with the side walls thereof to form a six-sided enclosure, means for supporting the front, rear, top, and bottom walls of the compartment in spaced relationship with the front, rear, top, and bottom walls, respectively, of the chamber to provide an air duct for the circulation of the refrigerated air in the chamber around the receptacle and cool said receptacle by conduction of heat through the front, rear, top,and bottom walls thereof, said supporting means affording ready removal of at least two of said walls of the compartment from said chamber.

8. In a refrigerator having a main food-storage chamber comprising front, rear, side, top, and bottom walls, said front wall comprising a door afiording access to said chamber, and means associated with the upper portion of said chamber to refrigerate the air therein, the combination with said refrigerator of a high-,humidity compartment located in said chamber, said compartment comprising front, rear, top, and

bottom walls, said front wall comprising a door to afford access to said compartment, all of said walls of the compartment extending the full width of the chamber to cooperate with the side walls thereof to form a six-sided enclosure, means for supporting the front, rear, top,,and bottom walls of the compartment near but spaced from the front, rear, top, and bottom walls, respectively, of the chamber to provide a narrowair duct at the rear, front, and bottom of the compartment for the circulation of the refrigerated air.

WILLIAM B. ANDERSON. 

